Serbia happy Bogdanovic finally got going

MADRID (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Bogdan Bogdanovic struggled throughout the Group Phase at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. But just in time for the Final Phase, the 22-year-old finally broke out with a big game against Greece.

And Serbia will need another strong showing from the young leader against Brazil in Wednesday's Quarter-Final.

"He's an unbelievable talent. He showed (against Greece) that he's a great shooter," said Serbian playmaker Milos Teodosic about Bogdanovic, who torched the Greeks for 21 points - 11.6 points more than his average from the games in Group A.

We haven't had a better talent than Bogdan in the last maybe 10 years. - Teodosic

"I didn't do anything special. I was just open and I had a lot of confidence in this game. And I think my team needed me in this moment. So I stepped up," said Bogdanovic, whose hit four three-pointers on the night - the total he had combined in his previous three games.

The 21 points were five more than his second-best game - a 16-point outing against Iran. Bogdanovic also scored just three points against Egypt and eight each against Brazil and Spain.

Serbia coach Sasha Djordjevic was also happy to see his young guard finally go off.

"His game shouldn't only be offensive-orientated. He should start from the defense. He's a great defender. Probably in his mind he's putting a lot of pressure on himself. He should just go there and play with the instincts that he has," said the coach.

Djordjevic said Brazil, who won the group stage encounter 81-73, enter the game as the favourite.

Brazil have incredible experience - Djordjevic

"They have an incredible team, maybe the best Brazilian team ever," he offered.

"They're here to win the medal. They are one of the favourites. They declared it officially three or four months ago. They have been working on that for the last three years with coach Ruben Magnano.

"They have a lot of quality on the bench, on the floor. It's a great organisation and we're looking forward to playing against them."

FIBA